World of Phenomena

Aurora above the Earth – Photo Credit: NASA

The world and universe are filled with tremendously diverse and amazing natural wonders and events, often referred to as phenomena. These wonders and events are observed and experienced by us every day, even though we may not be noticing them. The goal of this website is to explore them and attempt to explain how and why they occur, and what significance they have in the natural world.

Definition

The word phenomena has several different meanings. Below are three definitions.

1. Phenomena is defined as events, occurrences or happenings in the world around us. These events can be either spiritual or natural, and can also refer to physical sensations felt by a person.

2. Another definition relates to exceptional occurrences or people. An example of this would be to state “Babe Ruth was a baseball phenomenon.”

3. A third definition is related to several types of illnesses. The primary instance is Reynaud’s Disease, which is also known as Reynaud’s Phenomenon.

This website focuses on the first definition listed above; specifically those types of events that are found in the natural world.

Phenomena vs. Phenomenon

Phenomena is simply the plural form of Phenomenon, meaning more than one. Below are two examples of these words in sentences to help illustrate the subtle difference in usage:

1. Jacob saw a shooting star streaking through the night sky. It was a magnificent phenomenon.

2. Jacob saw hundreds of shooting stars streaking through the night sky. They were magnificent phenomena.

What are Natural Phenomena?

These are events or happenings that occur in nature, our world, solar system and universe. They come in many shapes and sizes. They shape our world, our news and lives. A few quick examples of these natural events include aurora, fog, moon halos and tsunamis. Some natural phenomena, like gravity and magnetism, cannot be seen, but are very real and critical to life on Earth.

Types of Natural Phenomena

Natural phenomena can be broken down into various categories. This website breaks them down into six main categories: